The trapping and subsequent drowning of a variety of small animals in swimming pool skimmers has been and continues to be a large problem for pool owners. As animals jump or fall into the pool, especially during rainy spells, they become trapped. After struggling for hours they eventually get trapped in the pool skimmer assembly and drown.
The drowning of these small animals present a variety of problems to the pool owner mainly:                a) the dead animals are unpleasant to remove and dispose of        b) the dead animals require an excessive amount of chlorination chemicals to deal with the decomposition        c) needlessly kills off vital members of our Eco system        
The invention provides a hassle free method by which the trapped animals can escape on their own by using this inventions skimmer cover and helical ramp assembly.
There have been several attempts at solving this problem by other U.S. patents issued mainly U.S. Pat. No. 5,377,623 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,796,864. These two patents provide means for frogs and other animals to climb onto a pad or other area prior to the critter arriving at the pool skimmer assembly. While these methods may have some success they present other issues for the pool owner and do not address the issue of the animals in the skimmer itself.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,862,541 further addresses this problem by providing an exit ramp apparatus added to the skimmer basket area. The complexity of this design and the additional effort needed by the pool owner make this solution less effective than that of this invention. The chances of an animal finding the end of the ramp is reduced in effect as compared to the helical ramp hugging the side wall of the skimmer housing of this invention. As water flows radially down into the skimmer it naturally forces the small critters against the ramp which radiated upwardly along the side wall of the skimmer housing. U.S. Pat. No. 5,862,541 only allows for the manual positioning of the ramp location and if the animal misses the ramp upon entering the skimmer basket it is out of luck.
This invention also provides for a much lower profile ramp due to the helical design. The slope of the ramp is much less as the effective length can be much longer as it follows the inside circumference of the skimmer housing. This reduced slope of the ramp is important as it provides a much easier exit for the animal in this slippery turbulent environment. The ramp of U.S. Pat. No. 5,862,541 is linear and the slope is dictated by the diameter of the skimmer assembly.
One other important feature of this invention is its simplicity and ease of use for the pool owner. This invention simply replaces existing pool skimmer covers or is purchased from the OEM at installation. U.S. Pat. No. 5,862,541 is an additional item needed by the pool owner and must be installed correctly, adjusted and maintained. The helical exit ramp of the current invention is attached to the skimmer cover and is effectively one piece. All pool owners must remove the skimmer cover on a regular basis to clean out leaves and other debris caught in the basket. With U.S. Pat. No. 5,862,541, debris will get caught in the mechanism and must be cleaned, repositioned and reattached. With the current invention, the simple act of removing the cover to clean the basket allows debris to fall away and the cover is replaced without thought or additional effort being required as the ramp is simply part of the cover.